Photography

I was considering the article "A Life More Photographic" (Rubenstein and Sluis) and I wish we had more time to discuss this one. I really enjoyed Lavie Raven's presentation and could have spent hours on this article and its implications. One point the article makes is that the emergence of digital photography "shattered the status of the photograph as objective truth". I don't ever think the photograph has been "objective truth". In compiling my images for my collection I was reminded of this. A photo of my family comes to mind- (the one above) we are around a birthday cake- This would appear to be a snapshot of a moment in time- a moment in which a group of people smiles around the birthday cake, but it's deeper than that- we aren't this cohesive unit in the least bit. We like each other, sure, but it's pretty complicated. I know I'm not objective in analyzing the photo but there is no way this is an objective truth of a moment in time.

So then I took a moment to really consider what the article meant by objective truth. I think it's that the one photo is itself- it brings me back to the issues of reproduction that we discussed and read about. Before digital, you could copy photos but never exactly- so the photo was the objective representation of whatever image it captured. In this context it makes more sense to me- the argument that objective truth is "shattered". When a photo is digitally messed with, so to speak, then the objective truth is no longer- there is a new truth requiring a new language to deal with said truth.

Political Iconography

In thinking about the article Muller and Ozcan article "The Political Iconography of Muhammad Cartoons: Understanding Cultural Conflict and Political Action", I am driven to feel more and more that there needs to be formal and explicit visual culture education. Their protocol/method of description, analysis and then interpretation of visual images is one I've used to teach students how to view political cartoons in the past- it's not a new idea for me, but I didn't think about using this protocol for other images. How about those images that are shocking or disturbing? Or even simply emotional for one reason or another?

Another issue that I think about in reference to the Muller and Ozcan article is that, personally, I can absolutely appreciate a political cartoon or image that makes a statement that is opposite of my own. I view this as an interesting expression of an opinion- in other words, I can appreciate a good cartoon even if I think what it's saying is offensive. We discussed the New Yorker cover with the Michelle and Barak Obama on it in "muslim" gear. It was interesting to hear the varied and emotional responses just in our class alone- and this is a year later. As someone who follows politics closely, my initial reaction was laughter- I felt I completely "got it". Is this because I subscribe to visual studies and analyze images in a more detached way? What is the New Yorker's responsibility in this situation (barring their intentions)- is it their "fault" not everyone "got it", or should they have been aware that they, as a widely circulated magazine, were putting something out there without the necessary explicit context? I find this to be fascinating!

Haiti and Traumatic pictures

Trauma of Images- Haiti
I was thinking about our conversation regarding the trauma of images. We discussed those images that are frozen in our minds and some shared that traumatic experiences are more of a movie they replay over and over. I'm sure we all have some combination of these experiences regarding trauma. It prompted me to consider the images coming from the earthquake in Haiti. I had been feeling like the images were increasingly shocking as compared to images from other disasters/wars. I found this Washington Post article asking about our responsibility in these situations. Elikins talked about the images we censor or are forbidden to see. How do you think this has shifted over the years?

Another question to ask- recently my friend witnessed the man who jumped off of the empire state building. She described this to me in great detail and I made an image in my mind that I can't shake. This image or one like it, from a New Yorker, traumatically dead would never be shared, yet images of twisted bodies from other countries are. I think this is interesting. Is it o.k for us to exploit and view the mangled dead elsewhere?

Here's the link for the Washington Post article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/15/AR2010011503745_pf.html

Photos from the UN

Here is a link to the photos of presidents by Platon- at the UN conference this fall...

http://www.newyorker.com/online/multimedia/2009/12/07/091207_audioslideshow_platon

I found this to be a shocking and excellent example of image culture. Each of these presidents/leaders is photographed in exactly the same way- most of them are at ease. When I first went through, I looked at the pictures and thought they were dignitaries, UN workers, but until I recognized the president of Afghanistan, I was going along under that assumption. The images betrayed me. Or did they? Maybe they spoke some truth about these men and women that I would never imagine to be true. So many political images are propaganda and I have beliefs based on these images presented to me.

About Me and My Expectations

I am a 7th Grade English teacher and graduate of the TC English Education program. I studied film and creative writing in college and visual studies have consistently been an interest of mine. I'm looking forward to exploring image culture through this course, perhaps bringing some of my work back to my students to broaden our visual and media literacy work.

In addition to being an English teacher, I teach online education courses through Drexel University and am an editor of young adult literature. One of my passions has been a bit absent from my life of late- my study and love of photography. I am fascinated by moments frozen in time. The visual archive particularly interests me personally- especially the notion of collecting a lot of images then piecing them together. This type of editing is an art form I truly enjoy.

Me